“Although the U.S. Patent Office recently invalidated most of the patents at issue in the dispute, NTP still had the right to appeal. However, RIM was put in a tough position because [Judge] Spencer didn’t have to wait for a final decision on the validity of the patents before making his decision on the injunction. As a result, RIM was forced to pay up, said Ken Dulaney, a vice president and analyst with Gartner, while NTP was inclined to take what it could get.” (Ryan Kim, “BlackBerry users emerge from the legal briar patch”, San Francisco Chronicle, Mar. 4). Earlier coverage on this site: May 2, Oct. 11, Nov. 30, 2005, and Feb. 8, Feb. 25, 2006.
BlackBerry dispute settles for $612M
“Although the U.S. Patent Office recently invalidated most of the patents at issue in the dispute, NTP still had the right to appeal. However, RIM was put in a tough position because [Judge] Spencer didn’t have to wait for a final decision on the validity of the patents before making his decision on the injunction. […]
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So, will the people defending the patent holders in this case (oops, EX-patent holders) and the system in general finally SHUT UP?!? The patents were ruled bogus, and they still got $612 million. How much more broken can the system be?!?
Update: tasty BlackBerry fees
Having represented patent-holding company NTP Inc. in its lengthy and much-criticized suit against BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (Mar. 4, etc.), the 250-lawyer Washington, D.C. law firm of Wiley, Rein & Fielding is going to…